Holmes Chapel Music @ Clonter presents Ensemble 360
If you have ever heard of
Clonter or seen the signs you will no doubt associate it with
Opera, and indeed you would be correct, but so much more goes on there than that. Almost since Clonter’s beginnings, in 1974, jazz has been a regular feature, with gospel being added shortly after, with folk added in recent years, and even some musical comedy, but the latest addition of chamber music is more closely aligned to what took place over the road at Clonterbrook House, at the home of the parents of Clonter’s founder, Jeffery Lockett, in which his mezzo-soprano mother, Betty Bannerman, hosted recitals, which included the highly acclaimed pianist Imogen Cooper’s professional debut. Betty Bannerman also had a very long association with both the Holmes Chapel Music Society and the Hallé orchestra, being the vice president of the former from its earliest years until her death in 1992. It seems both symbolic and fitting therefore that the crescendo of the
Holmes Chapel Music Society’s
50th anniversary programme should have culminated in a performance by Sir Mark Elder and the Hallé’s Principals at Clonter.
This was the last of the Holmes Chapel Music Society’s official concerts, as the society has now disbanded but Clonter has taken up the baton, thanks to the generosity of a private donor, and the continued support and expertise of the society’s founder members, and this next concert is hoped to herald the beginning of a new tradition of chamber music at Clonter to add to it’s annual programme, kick started by welcoming back Ensemble
360 after their triumphant appearance at Clonter in
January this year.
Praised by The Guardian as
“one of the most adaptable chamber groups in the country”, Ensemble 360 is renowned for its virtuoso performances, bold programming and engaging interpretations of music ranging from baroque duos, through classical quartets to new commissions for all eleven players.
formed in 2005 to take up residency at Sheffield’s Crucible
Studio Theatre, Ensemble 360 quickly gained an enviable national reputation. The group takes its name from the intimacy and immediacy of the Crucible’s in-the-round space, which influenced their performance and ethos to give audiences a ‘360 degree experience’ that goes beyond the traditions of classical concerts.